Peter Mahon

Peter Mahon (1905-26 April 1916) was an Irish child soldier who fought with the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising; he was shot dead while gathering food from a street.

Biography
Peter Mahon was one of the four children born to Arthur and Peggy Mahon, and he was raised in a working-class Irish Catholic family. He was inspired to become an Irish republican by his uncle Jimmy Mahon, and, during the 1916 Easter Rising, he ran out of the home to join the rebels with a Turkish Mauser pistol that his father had captured during his service in World War I. Mahon presented the pistol to Cormac McDevitt, who allowed for him to enter the General Post Office (GPO) building which was used as the IRB headquarters. Mahon offered his services to James Connolly, who agreed to make him his personal messenger; his uncle told him to stay away from the windows and doorways. However, an IRB officer had him head out to forage for food on the street, and Mahon picked apples and potatoes off of the cobblestones of a desolate road. The nurse Elizabeth Butler noticed him walking alone and told him to come to cover near her, as the street was dangerous. However, Peter refused to divert from his mission and ignored her as he chewed on an apple. Just then, he was shot in the side by a British Army sniper who noticed his rebel uniform, but was not aware of his age until Butler shouted that they had shot a child. He died of his wounds in a makeshift hospital shortly after.